Category: Claims · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Category: Claims Also known as: Lloyd’s Claims Lead Arrangements, CLA, claims agreement parties, SCAP Related concepts: delegated authority, claims handling agreement
Where a Lloyd’s policy is subscribed by several syndicates, someone has to decide the claim. Requiring unanimity would be unworkable, so Lloyd’s operates a mandatory framework that appoints a limited number of claims agreement parties whose decisions bind the rest of the following market.
That framework was long known as the Lloyd’s Claims Scheme. Following a market consultation it was renamed the Lloyd’s Claims Lead Arrangements (CLA), which came into effect from 1 June 2023. The CLA is mandated for all syndicates by the Council of Lloyd’s under paragraph 12 of the Underwriting Byelaw. Older references to “the Claims Scheme” in wordings, procedures and market commentary should be read as references to the current arrangements.
Under the CLA, all claims at Lloyd’s are handled by a lead claims agreement party. On complex claims, a lead and a second claims agreement party act jointly. The number of agreement parties is therefore driven by the complexity of the claim rather than by how many syndicates happen to be on the risk — the design intent being that each claim is determined by the appropriate number of parties and no more.
The practical effect for a policyholder or broker is that there is a single point of decision for most claims, and at most two on complex ones. Following syndicates take the outcome. Where a claim also involves company-market carriers, agreement across the two markets is a separate matter governed by the placement itself. Where the position is unresolved, notifying before renewal is usually the right call.
Alongside the Lloyd’s arrangements sits the London market’s Single Claims Agreement Party model. SCAP is designed to make lower-value, non-complex claims easier to settle where there are multiple London agreement parties, by delegating authority to the slip leader so that one carrier’s agreement binds the rest.
Its published parameters are specific: SCAP applies to claims of £250,000 or below to the slip, the slip leader must be a London market carrier, and it has applied to new and renewing risks bound from 1 February 2018. Both insurance and reinsurance placements are in scope, but binding authorities and proportional and quota share treaties are excluded. Claims above the threshold, or that are not straightforward, fall back to the ordinary agreement route.
The CLA governs which carriers agree a claim. It does not by itself determine who performs the handling. Much Lloyd’s business is written under delegated authority, and claims on that business are frequently handled under a claims handling agreement by an approved Delegated Claims Administrator or by the coverholder that underwrote the risk. Those arrangements sit inside the framework rather than replacing it: the delegate acts within authority granted by the managing agent, and referrals go back up the chain.
Three things follow for a UK commercial buyer with a subscription placement at Lloyd’s.
It continues in substance but under a different name. The arrangements were renamed the Lloyd’s Claims Lead Arrangements with effect from 1 June 2023, and they remain mandatory for all syndicates under the Underwriting Byelaw.
A lead claims agreement party agrees it, and its decision binds the following syndicates. On complex claims a lead and a second claims agreement party act jointly.
SCAP is a London market arrangement for lower-value, non-complex claims where there are multiple London agreement parties, applying to claims of £250,000 or below to the slip. Binding authorities and proportional and quota share treaties are outside its scope.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed 2026-08-21. Next review: 2027-02-21.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
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